Diplomacy(skill)
With a Diplomacy check a diplomat can persuade someone to accept a deal or, at the very least, convince them to listen to them. The difficulty of the check depends on the relationship between the diplomat and the other character and the quality of the deal being offered. Check You can change the attitudes of others (nonplayer characters) with a successful Diplomacy check. Participants roll opposed Diplomacy checks, and the winner gains the advantage. Opposed checks also resolve situations when two advocates or diplomats plead opposite cases in a hearing before a third party. The person attempting to "win over" the target or convince the target of something he believes to be true (if it's a lie it's a Bluff check) makes a Diplomacy check as normal. The target makes an opposed roll using the following formula: 1d20 + target's HD + target's Wisdom modifier + current attitude modifier = result Current Attitude Modifiers Hostile: +20 (or more, DM's discretion) Unfriendly: +10 Indifferent: +0 Friendly: -5 Helpful: -10 If the character's Diplomacy check is higher, then the character succeeds at what he was attempting. Of course, using Diplomacy to get a small discount at a shop is vastly different than attempting to get a dark elf raiding party to leave a village alone. see the Influencing NPC Attitudes sidebar, below, for basic DCs. These DCs are influenced as indicated in the Level Difference sidebar, the Social Standing sidebar, and the Relationship sidebar. As diplomacy is such a complicated issue, these are by no means the only circumstances that may alter the situation, and the DM is free to determine any additional circumstance modifiers that may be appropriate. Such examples include Alignment, Situation, and motives of the NPC involved. A wanted criminal, for example, can expect a penalty on diplomacy when dealing with any law abiding citizen, with an even greater penalty when dealing with members of the city watch who are looking for him. You cannot alter an NPC's attitude whilst they are in combat. You may only improve an NPC's attitude by 1 step, and even then natural conflicts of interest may quickly cause relations to worsen once more unless you work to give the NPC a reason to remain on better terms, frequently via something they want or require, though their improved attitude may make ensuing negotiations on that front easier. You must either share a language with the target or face a -10 penalty to your roll as you try to express yourself through body language and tone of voice. You cannot use diplomacy on creatures with an intelligence score of 2 or lower, or those under magical compulsion or charm effects. You cannot normally take 10 on a Diplomacy check. The key that makes this system work is the ability of the DM to assign circumstance modifiers on the fly based on the situation and what the PC is trying to accomplish with the roll. Does the character have a reputation the target knows about? Is he trying to convince the target to do something, or just to like him? If the former, does he want the target to do something she might do anyway, or something she'd never normally do without a great deal of coaxing? Here are some very broad guidelines: Character has known, good reputation: +5 bonus to Diplomacy check Character has known, bad reputation: -5 penalty to Diplomacy check Character attempts to convince target to do something fairly run of the mill: +0 bonus to Diplomacy check Character attempts to convince target to do something distasteful: -2 penalty to Diplomacy check Character attempts to convince target to do something inconvenient: -5 penalty to Diplomacy check Character attempts to convince target to do something disadvantageous: -10 penalty to Diplomacy check Character attempts to convince target to do something dangerous: -20 penalty to Diplomacy check Slight Variant: Use the target's Will save modifier instead of his Hit Dice. This makes almost all targets easier to influence, particularly those not known for their willpower. Overcome Intransigence: Some characters simply won’t listen to any attempts at negotiation or deal-making. To overcome their intransigence, you can make a Diplomacy check with a DC of 15 + the subject’s HD + the subject’s Wisdom modifier + the subject’s relationship modifier. If the check succeeds, you can then make a Diplomacy check as normal. *Charm Spells: A charmed creature is treated as having a Friendly relationship to the caster (-10 to Diplomacy DC ), which replaces any previous relationship modifier (unless the target already had an Intimate relationship with the character). Thus, by charming an enemy, the DC drops from +5 to -10, a decrease of 15. The caster can now talk the creature into anything this improved relationship allows. Because the effect is based on the spell, the caster can make a Spellcraft check in place of a Diplomacy check when dealing with charmed creatures. Influencing NPC Attitudes: New Attitude (Base DC to achieve) Attitude Hostile Unfriendly Indifferent Friendly Helpful Hostile* Less than 20 20 — — — Unfriendly Less than 10 15 30 — — Indifferent — Less than 10 10 35 — Friendly — — Less than 10 10 40 Helpful — — — Less than 10 10 Target is...* DC Modifier Stranger or Indifferent** 0 Mortal Enemy +20 Enemy or Hostile +15 Rivals or Unfriendly +10 Recognizes on sight -5 Friends or associates or Friendly -10 Close friends or Helpful -15 Socially superior +1-5 Socially inferior -1-5 In a group +1 per ally Is more powerful than you*** +1 per hitdie difference, max +5 Is less powerful than you*** -1 per 2 hitdice difference, max -5 Negotiation modifiers DC Modifier The target is desperate to get rid of what you are requesting. -5 The offer is fair, and the commodity doesn’t affect the target much. +0 The offer is slightly in your favour or puts the target at some risk. +5 The offer is greatly in your favour or puts the target at significant risk. +10 The offer is ridiculous, almost too incredible to consider. +20 The offer carries no risk and costs the target nothing. -5 The target is aware the request is for something exceptionally valuable to you. +5 Item is of exceptional value to the target. +5 You have a reputation for honesty and fair dealings. -2 You have a reputation for dishonesty, or deceived the target in the past. +5 Bribery and Diplomacy Offering money or another form of favor can, in the right situation, improve a character's chances with a Diplomacy skill check. Bribery allows a character to circumvent various official obstacles when a person in a position of trust or authority is willing to accept such an offering. An illegal act, bribery requires two willing participants-one to offer a bribe and the other to accept it. When a character requires a bribe to render services, then a hero's Diplomacy check automatically fails if a bribe isn't attached to it. If a bribe isn't required, a hero can add a bribe to get a bonus on his or her skill check. This can backfire, as some characters will be insulted by a bribe offer (their attitude changes one step for the worse) and others will report the hero to the proper authorities. To make a bribe, you must make a Wealth check against a DC set by your GM. Several typical DCs are given on Table 4-13 in the Services section. If you succeed in the check, you gain a +5 bonus on your Diplomacy check when making the bribe. For every point by which you beat the Wealth check DC, the bonus increases by +1, to a maximum bonus of +10. You may take 10 on the Wealth check, but you cannot take 20. Bribe Target Purchase DC Bouncer 6 Bureaucrat 10 Informant 7 Police officer 10 *Negotiation You can also use Diplomacy during negotiations with another party, in this case your roll is an opposed roll with the target's Sense Motive or Diplomacy, whichever is higher. You cannot convince a target to perform obviously suicidal or harmful actions (unless there is an exceptional reason for being able to do so), and in most cases will require an exchange of some manner. You may make a separate bluff or intimidate check as part of this check to fabricate a commodity to exchange, or extort with menaces, but once the target discovers this deceit, or 1d6×10 minutes after you are no longer in its presence after using intimidation, this will permanently drop its default attitude towards you, and impart a penalty to future dealings in the knowledge of this past misdeed. See the Relationship modifiers for this check, however the DC modifiers stated are added or subtracted from the target's check result accordingly (the DM may take 10 on this check). See also the Example Circumstances sidebar for some additional Negotiation factors that may apply to this check. Depending on the result of the check, the NPC may then accept the terms (there is no guarantee that this acceptance is genuine), suggest a more favourable offer for themselves, suggest a less risky or costly alternative, or otherwise move to sweeten the deal in their favour. Should the check fail by 10 or more, then the target's attitude towards you and anyone associated with you may decrease unless they are somehow appeased. The nature of these deals depends on the nature of that which is being negotiated for. It is important to note that negotiation is not mind control, and certain things cannot be negotiated for, no matter their price. When this negotiation is a financial transaction, both parties may also use their respective Appraise skills for this roll instead. Note that haggling with merchants is not socially acceptable is some societies, and carries the risk of simply offending the merchant, where haggling is acceptable, then consider every 2 points you beat the merchant's roll to be 1% off the asking price, down to their minimum accepted price. whilst losing the roll may indicate the corresponding increase on all their stock! In the case of day to day haggling, it is possible (and recommended) to take 10 when negotiating with merchants for goods and services. *Representation You may also use Diplomacy to represent your case to a third party, by use of an opposed Diplomacy roll. Apply modifiers to both you and your opponent separately in this case. Whether a better represented case makes a difference or not depends on the third party in question. Action Changing others’ attitudes with Diplomacy generally takes at least 1 full minute (10 consecutive full-round actions). In some situations, this time requirement may greatly increase. A rushed Diplomacy check can be made as a full-round action, but you take a -10 penalty on the check. Try Again Optional, but not recommended because retries usually do not work. Even if the initial Diplomacy check succeeds, the other character can be persuaded only so far, and a retry may do more harm than good. If the initial check fails, the other character has probably become more firmly committed to his position, and a retry is futile. Special A half-elf has a +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy checks. If you have the Negotiator feat, you get a +2 bonus on Diplomacy checks. Synergy If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), or Sense Motive, you get a +2 bonus on Diplomacy checks. Category:Skills